Anitschkow myocytes or cardiac histiocytes in human hearts

The caterpillar chromatin pattern of the nucleus in longitudinal section an d owl-eye appearance in transverse section characterize the Anitschkow cell of Aschoff bodies in rheumatic heart disease. Determining whether it is of muscle origin or cardiac histiocyte has been a source of controversy for m any years. In a study of fetal and neonatal hearts from humans, vesicular n uclei often displaying the Anitschkow chromatin pattern were the predominan t cell type in the myocardium. Because a similar pattern was also observed in two cell types related to laryngeal cartilage and the neighbouring fibro us tissue in a six week old neonate, it was concluded that the Anitschkow c hromatin pattern probably indicates cellular immaturity rather than any spe cific cell type.